Machine for assembling louver doors



Dec. 5, 1961 e. GlLKEY MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING LOUVER nooas 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 27, 1958 v, INVENTOR GEORGE L.G|LK EY ATTORNEYS 6 Sheets-s 5 G EORGE L. GILK Ev ATTORNEYS Dec. 5 1961 G. GILKE Y MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING LOUVER DOORS Filed Aug. 27, 1958 Dec. 5, 17961 cs. 1.. GlLKEY 3,011,248

MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING LOUVER DOORS Filed Aug. 27, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 ja g 6' C s Q 79 7 e I I I r I i 5 INVENTOR GEORGE L..GILKEY ATTORNEYS Dec. 5, 1961 G. L. GILKEY 3,011,248

MACHINE FOR ASSEMBL ING LOUVER DOORS Filed Aug. 27, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR GEORGE L.GlLKEY ATTORNEYS Dec. 5 1961 e. L GILKEY 3,011,248

. MACHINE United States This invention appertains to louver doors and like structures, and more particularly to a novel machine for facilitating the assembly and manufacture of such doors.

Much difficulty has been encountered in the assembly of the louver slats with the stiles of doors and this mainly, has been a hand operation. The inner faces of the stiles of the doors are provided with routed out diagonally extending grooves for the ends of the slats.

In wide doors, the stiles and the upper and lower rails are driven together (i.e. assembled and connected by dowels). After this, one slat is taken at a time, and one end is inserted in a groove in one stile and the slat is then arched or sprung and snapped into a transversely aligned groove in the other stile. This is continued until all of the stiles are in place. Obviously, this is a tim consuming and costly operation;

In narrow doors, the slats cannot be arched or sprung sufiiciently to permit the snapping of the same in place. Consequently, before the assembly of the stiles with the top and bottom rails, the slats are driven into the grooves of one stile while the door is in a closing clamp in the process of being assembled. Then the first slat either at the top or bottom of the door, is inserted into the other stile which is brought into alignment with the first stile slowly. The end receiving thefirst slat is closer to the first stile than the other end of this stile. This end of the stile is held in place and the other end is gradually brought into alignment and the slats inserted one after the other until they are all partially engaged in the second stile. Then the door is driven (the stiles brought together), by closing the clamp. This is a long, tedious and costly process.

It is, therefore, one of the primary objects of my invention to provide a novel and unique means of construct ing a louver door, which will effectively cut down on the cost, time and labor in the making of the door and at the same time produce a better looking and more finished door.

Another salient object of my invention is to provide a louver door in which the slats are initially assembled in a narrow auxiliary frame or rim, so that the routing out of the stiles of the door is eliminated and so as to produce a door in which the stiles and rails can be assembled irrespective of the door width prior to the connection of the slats therewith, the auxiliary rim and slats being connected with the door as a unit, the auxiliary frame or rim giving a desired finished appearance to the door and effectively cutting down on the width of costly stiles for a certainsize of door. 1

A further object of myinvention is the provision of a machine for automatically assembling the slats of a louver door with the side pieces of an auxiliary rim or frame, so that such work can be done'quickly and accurately with the employment of a minimum number of hand operations.

Another further object of the invention is the provision of a machine embodying a base or table having novel means for receiving and clamping the'routed out side pieces of an auxiliary slat receiving frame or rim, means being provided for adjusting one of the jaws of atent Y the slats will enter the grooves first and-then gradually 1 the clamping means toward the other according to the width of the door being made, with a travelling hopper movable over and between the pieces for-automatically delivering the slats at the properspaced points between the pieces'and in alignmentQwith the grooves in the. 5:7 "pieces, and' with means for bringing the jaws ofthe for the template rack, bars for, the side rim pieces; 1

ice

clamping means toward one another for correctly driving the slat ends into the grooves of the rim side pieces.

A further important object of my invention is the provision of novel template rack bars for receiving the slats from the travelling hopper and for initially holding the slats at the correct angle and in alignment with the grooves of the side pieces of the rim, so that when the jaws of the clamping or holding means are brought toward one another the slat ends will be properly driven into the grooves of the side rim pieces.

Another further important object of my invention is the provision of novel means for initially lining up the grooves in the side rim pieces with each other and with the holding slat teeth of the template rack bars, so as to assure the proper lining up of the slats with the grooves in the rim pieces. v

A still further object of my invention is the provision of means for insuring the easy entrance of the slat ends into the grooves of the side rim pieces without injury to the slats or the rim pieces and without the necessity of tapering the entire opposite ends of the slats, said means including pivoted jaw members on the clamping means spring urged toan inclined .position, so that the rim pieces will lie at an angle to the vertical with their lower edges innermost, whereby upon inward movement of the clamps toward one another, the lower corners of the entire slat ends, .as the clamps continue their move- "ment toward one another and the swinging of the jaw members to a vertical position. 1

A still further important object of the invention is the provision of a hopper for receiving a quantity of the slats movable longitudinally over the table or base supporting the template rack bars and the clamping means, with automatic means for dropping and guiding the slats one at a time between the side rim pieces and the clamping members and at the correct points for reception in the template rack bars and then in the grooves of the rim pieces.

A still further important object of my invention is the provision of means for adjusting the width of the hopper so that different lengths of slats can be accommodated therein according to the width of the door being manufactured. A still further important object of my invention is the provision of a novel and simple means for controlling the movement of the hopper longitudinally of the table or base and a novel means for insuring the holding of the hopper in correct transverse alignment across the table during the travel of the hopper.

Withthese and'other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and formation of parts, as will be hereinafter morejspecifically described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which drawing,

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the improved Ina ichine with parts thereof broken away andin section to illustrate structural detail; v

URE11,flooking in the direction of the arrows, theview ma rof s ats dropped into, and held by the template rack bars;

" FIGURE-31s a transverse sectionalview through the machinetakenon the line 33 .of 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

f: FIGURE4Iis an enlarged fragmentarydetail transverse sectional view' through themachine .takenon the line of FIG IJ RE Z, looking in' the direction of the arrows :andillustrating more particularly the mounting FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4, but show- 7 ing the clamping members for the rim pieces brought toward one another with the slat ends driven into the rim pieces;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 66 of FIGURE 1, looking in the direction of the arrows and illustrating more particularly the means employed for temporarily holding the side rim pieces in the jaws of the clamping means;

FIGURE 7 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of FIGURE 6, looking in the direction of the arrows and illustrating the simple means employed for insuring the proper lining up of the side rim pieces with one another prior to the securing thereof to the clamping jaws;

FIGURE 8 is a detail transverse sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of FIGURE 2 and FIGURE 6, looking in the direction of the arrows, the view illustrating the guide for the operating link of the holding means for the side rim pieces;

FIGURE 9 is a detail longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of FIGURE 1, looking in the direction of the arrows and illustrating the means for securing the adjustable supporting rail for one section of the rim clamping means in an adjusted position on the base of the machine;

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary transverse sectional View taken on the line 10-10 of FIGURE 2, looking in the direction of the arrows and illustrating the mechanism employed forejecting one slat at a time from the hopper to the base of the machine;

FIGURE 11 is a detail fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 11-11 of FIGURE 10, looking in the direction of the arrows, and illustrating that portion of the slat ejecting mechanism actuated-from the timing pins on the base of the machine during the travel ofthe hopper in one direction;

FIGURE 12 is a detail vertical sectional view taken on the line 12-12 of FIGURE 10, looking in the direction of the arrows, illustrating the pusher shoe of the slat ejecting mechanism;

FIGURE 13 is a detail transverse sectional View taken on the line 13-13 of FIGURE 1, looking in the direc" tion of the arrows, illustrating the means employed for connecting one of the control switches with the frame of the base;

FIGURE l4is a detail perspective view showing the slats.completely'assembled with the side rim pieces and removed from the assembling machine, and

FIGURE 15 is a perspective view of a door constructed in accordance with my invention.

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter M generally indicates my novel machine for facilitating the assembly and manufacture of louver doors. Such a door is illustrated in FIGURE 15 ofv the drawings, and is indicated generally by the reference character D. The door D includes side stiles and 21 and top and bottom rails 22 and 23. These stiles and rails define a rectangular shaped opening 24 which is partially closed by' a set of louver slats 25. As brought out in the objects of the specification, the slats 25 are usually associated directly with the side stiles 20 and 21, but in accordance with my invention, I utilize an inner auxiliaryframe or rim 26 carrying the slats 25 and this frame or rim isinserted as an assembled unit with the slats in the rectangular 30 of the rim are secured to said side pieces and this unit, as heretofore stated, is then secured in the door. Hence, the machine broadly includes means for holding side rim pieces in proper position, means for delivering slats at proper points between the pieces and for then driving the slats into the grooves of the side pieces. The machine M includes a base 32 which can be constructed in any preferred manner, as long as a rigid, firm structure is had. As illustrated, the base includes corner legs 33 connected together by end transversely extending rails 34 and longitudinally extending side rails 35. Rigidly secured to the side rails 35 are main end supporting beams 36 and 37. These beams are preferably of an inverted U-shape in cross section and extend transversely of the base and function to support clamping means 38 for the side rim pieces 27 and 28, as will later more clearly appear. One side rail 35 also firmly supports a pair of transversely extending and supporting bars 39, which in turn carry and support mountings 4 for the locating template rack bars 41 for the slats 25. The mounting means 40 and the template rack bars 41 will be described in detail at a later point.

Mounted for travelling movement longitudinally of I the table and back and forth, is a hopper 42 for receiving shaped opening 24 of the "door D. The rim or' frame.

'26 includes like side pieces 27 and, 28 andend rim pieces 29 and The inner faces o'f the' side rim pieces 27 and 28 are routedoutto provide diagonally extending grooves '31 for receiving the ends ofthe slats 25.

The machine M' is employed for automatically assem-l bling and securing the slats 25 with'the side rim pieces '27 and 28 and after such assembly'the end pieces 29 and a plurality of stacked slats 25, and this hopper 42 is carried by a frame 43 which extends transversely across the base .or table. The hopper, its frame and operating mechanism will also be later set forth, but for the moment, it is to be noted that the hopper is located above the template rack bars 41 and travels back and forth thereover.

Now referring more particularly to the clamping means 38 for the side rim pieces 27 and 28, it can be seen (see FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 that the same includes a pair of companion jaw members 44 and 45. These jaw members are of an L-shape in cross section and the lower edges of the side rim pieces 27 and 28 can rest on the lower legs of the jaw members during the assembly of the slats 25 with such rim pieces. The upper ends of the jaw members 44 and 45 are connected by hinges 46 respectively, with the upper ends of longitudinally extending supporting plates 47 and 48. These plates are arranged in spaced parallel relation in a vertical plane and the jaw members 44 and 45 are normally urged away from the lower ends of the plates to an angle position, as shown in 'FIGURE 4, by expansion springs 49 (see FIGURE 8), as will be more clearly set forth. The plate 48 is welded or otherwise rigidly secured to a longitudinally extending beam 50 which rests on the upper faces of the transversely extending inverted U-shaped supporting beams 36 and 37. The longitudinal beam Stl is initially adjusted on the beams 36 and 37 toward the jaw member 44 and its supporting plate 47 according to the width of the door being made and after the beam 50 is initially adjusted the same is clamped to the beams 36 and 37. Any desired type of clamping means can be providedfor this'purpose, but as illustrated (see FIGS. land 2 and 9), hooked shaped clamping bolts 51 are provided for hooking over, certain flanges of the beams 36 and 37 and the upper ends of these bolts extend through holes, 52 in the longitudinal width.

From the description so far, it can bev seen that normally the jaw members 44 and 45 are disposed at an angle to the vertical and that the slats 25 are temporarily held by template rack bars 41. During thedriving of the slat ends into the grooves31 of the side rim pieces 27 and is left stationary during the assembly. of a door of a given 28, ity is necessary for the jaw mer'nbers'to be moved toward one "another and hence I employ 'a 'novel means tar an for moving the jaw member 44 toward the jaw member 45 and this means will now be described. The plate 47 is rigidly secured to a longitudinally extending beam 54 of U-shape in cross section and this beam 54 is of the same character, as the beam 50, and extends in spaced parallel relation thereto. The beam 54, however, is movable transversely of the base to bring about the desired movement of the jaw member 44 toward the jaw member 45. The means for adjusting the beam 54 and the jaw member 44 includes spaced upright stub shafts 55 and 56. These stub shafts carry at their upper ends cam rollers 57 and these rollers are confined between the upright flanges of the beam 54. If desired, wear plates 58 can be interposed between the flanges of the beam 54 and the active faces of the cam rollers 57 The lower ends of these shafts 54 have fixed thereto crank arms 59 and 60 and the outer ends of the crank arms are connected by a link 61, so that the shafts and the cams 56 and 57 will be turned in unison. The shafts 55 and 56 are rotatably mounted in suitable bearing brackets 62 carried by the frame of the base of the machine. As illustrated the bearing brackets are carried by the longitudinal side beam 34 of the frame and the transversely extending supporting beams 36 and 37. A hand lever 63 is provided for actuating the cranks 59 and 6t), and the inner end of this hand lever is rockably mounted on a pivot 64 secured to the base. The outer end of the lever 63 carries an operating handle 65 andthis lever is pivotally connected intermediate its ends by a pivot 66 to the link 61. Obviously, by swinging the lever 63 to the right and left (see FIGURE 1) the jaw member 44 can be moved toward and away from the jaw member 45. Due to the length of the link 61 it is preferred to support an intermediate part thereof on an idle crank 67 which can be pivoted, as at 68, to the base of the frame. The outer end of this crank is pivoted as at 69, to the link 61.

In order to bring about the smooth swinging of the jaw members 44 and 45 during the closing movement of the clamping means 38 as just described, I prefer to mount the expansion springs 49 on guide rods 70. These guide rods slidably extend through depending lugs 71 carried respectively by the beams 50 and 54. Inward movement of the guide rods '70 is limited by adjusting nuts 72 threaded on the guide rods 70. The inner ends of the guide rods carry knuckles 73 which are pivotally connected, as at 74, to dependingears75 formed on or secured to the lower faces of the jaw members 44 and 45.

In order to hold the side rim pieces 27 and 28 firm in the jaw members 44 and 45, during the operation of the clamping means 38, clamping bars 76 and 77 are provided. These clamping bars are carried respectively by the clamping jaw members 44 and 45 for sliding movement toward and away from the lower legs or flanges of the clamping jaw members. The bars extend substantially the full length of the body of the jaw members and slidably engage the inner faces thereof, and these bars'are provided with inclined guide slots 78 through which extend headed guide pins 79 rigidly carried by the jaw members. Thus, when a sliding motion is imparted to the bars, said bars are moved up or down according to the direction of the sliding movement. In order to, bring about the sliding movement and the clamping action, an

operating lever 80 is provided foreach bar. Each ,op-

r 6 due to the inclination of the guide slots 78. To compensate for the change in distance between an operating lever 80 and a clamping bar, it is preferred to form each connecting link 82 in sections 83 and 84 and the inner ends of these sections are united by a relatively heavy expansion coil spring 85. In order to hold the sections 83 and 84 in alignment, the adjacent ends of the sections are slidably received in a U-shaped rigid guide strip 86. The guide strip 86 can be rigidly secured to one section of the connecting link 82.

It is of importance to have the routed out grooves 31 in the rim pieces 27 and 28 in exact transverse alignment and I have therefore provided a means 87 for accurately locating the rim pieces in the jaw members prior to the clamping thereof in the jaw members. A locating means 87 is provided on each jaw member and each locating means 87 includes an arm 88 pivotally and slidably mounted on a supporting stud 89 carried by an adjacent jaw member. The inner end of each arm 88 is provided with a locating pin 90 and the arm and its pin is normally urged toward a rim piece by an expansion spring 91 coiled about the stud 89. Upon the placing of the rim pieces in the jaw members, the same are slid toward the locating arms and the arms are moved laterally against the tension of the spring 91 away from the rim pieces until the locating pins 90 of the arms are in alignment with the forwardmost grooves 31 in the rim pieces. At this time, the arms 88 can be released so that the pins will ride into the innermost grooves 31 and the locating arms will temporarily hold the rim pieces in proper accurate position until the same are clamped by the bars 76 and 77. At this time, the arms 88 can again be shifted laterally and swung down onto the studs 89; To limit the downward swinging movement-of the locating arms 88, a'stop pin 92 is carried by each clamping jaw member and these stop pins are located in the path of the downward swinging movement of the locating arms. If preferred, the lower edges of the arms can be notched, as at 93, for resting on said stop pins.

As heretofore brought out, template rack bars 41 are provided for initially holding the slats 25 at the desired correct angle and in their desired correct spaced relation and that the template rack bars 41 are supported on members 40 disposed longitudinally of the machine and between the clamping jaw members 44 and 45. The

supporting members 40 can be in the nature of U-shapedchannel beams and the supporting members are resilientcrating hand lever is in the nature of a bell crank; and p is pivoted at its lower forward end, as at 8 1 to-the adja;

cent jaw member 44 or 45. I Each. crank is' connected at its angle to a link 82 and theforward end of the link is connected to the adjacent clamp bar 76 or 77. Hence ly mounted on the base for a purpose which will now appear. As best shown in FIGURE 4,'the supporting members 48 are provided with depending studs 84 which slidably extend through the frame bars 39. Upward movement of the studs 94 is limited in the frame bars 39 by nuts 95 adjustably threaded on the studs. Expansion springs 86 are coiled about the studs and engage respectively the U-shaped beams 48 and the frame bars 39, and thus, the springs normally urge the beams 40 and the rack bars 41 to a raised position. In order to further guide the beams 48 with the template rack bars 41 in a straight vertical path, guide plates 97 can be welded or otherwise secured to the frame bars 39% and these guide teeth 98 are. equidistantly spacedand are of .a'suflicient on a forward thrust of an operating lever'80, a forward pushing action will be exerted on a ;clarnp bar "causing the same to rise out of clamping engagement-wither piece. Upon rearward movement of an operating lever,

as shown in full lines in FIGURE 6, arearward pull will be exerted-on a clamping jaw, and the sanrwill bje .f d a down into clamping holding engagement'with-a'rim piece deptl'rto hold the slatsat their desired angle. At this time,.it is to be understood that the locating means 87 is;positioned relative to the template. rackbars so, that .when the rim'fside-pieees 27 and 28am initially located the innermost grooves 31 in, the rimpieces will be in direct transverse alignment with'the inner teeth ofthe teznplate rack .barsfoi holding the: innermost, Slit in transverse alignmentiwith the innermost grooves; If preferred,

the template rack bars 41 can be detachably secured in the supporting means 40 and hence, I provide set screws 99 carried by the supporting means 40 for gripping contact with the, template rack bars.

Considering that thejaw members 44 and 45 are in their open position with the side rim pieces 27 and 28 secured therein by the clamping bars 76 and 77, then the machine is ready to receive the slats 25 and these slats are automatically dropped at proper timed intervals from the hopper 42 into the teeth 98 of the template rack bars during the travel of the hopper in one direction longitudinally of the machine and this will now be described. Considering that the slats have been dropped into the template rack bars, the operator actuates the hand crank 63 for moving the jaw member 44 toward the jaw member 45. In view of the fact that the jaw members 44 and 45 are at an angle and incline inwardly and downwardly, it can be seen that during initial movement of the jaw member 44 toward the jaw member 45, the lower corners or" the slats 25 will be first guided and forced into the routed out grooves 41. As movement of the jaw member 44 continues toward the jaw member 45 these jaw members swing inwardly on their hinges 46 gradually to a vertical position until the entire terminals of the slats are forced or driven into the routed out grooves 31. At this time, the slats are then firmly united with the rim pieces 27 and 28. It can be seen that when the jaw members 44 and 45 approach one another and the jaw members swing to their vertical position, and the slat ends enter into the rim pieces; there is a tendency for the slats to be forced down and this is permitted due to the resilient mounting of the template rack bars. The clamping bars 76 and 77 are now released by manipulating the bell cranks St The operator now manipulates the hand crank, 63 in a reverse direction and the jaw 44 is moved away from the jaw member 45 and these jaw members again assume their angular position. During the movement of the jaw member 44 away from the jaw member 45 the rim pieces 27 and 28 leave the jaw members and the united rim pieces and slats are now removed from the machine. At this time another operator joins the end pieces 29 and 3 of the rim with the side pieces 27 and 28 and this unit is then secured in the door D as previously described.

The hopper 42 and its supporting frame 43 constitutes -a complete carriage and as stated the hopper and its frame bar 181. This bar continues and extends down below the adjacent one main side frame bar 35. Also secured to the top bar 100 are spaced depending parallel supporting frame bars 102 and 1193. These bars 102 and 103 are firmly connected together by a horizontally disposed rigid frame bar 194. The outermost bar 162 is further braced and connected'to the end bar 191 by a horizontally disposed brace bar 105. Disposed below,

terminals of a stack of slats 25. The outer guide chan-' nel 108 is rigidly secured to the top bar 1% and the lower bar 166 and also serves as means forfirmly uniting these bars together. The inner guidejchannel 107 is adjustable on the bars 180 and 166 toward and .away from the outer channel 1118 so that different lengths of slats can be accommodated. To bring about this adjnst- 1 1161112, 'the bars and 106 are provided with longitudinally extending slots 1 89 and studs 110 carried by the guide channel 107 extend through these slots. The studs have threaded thereon winged nuts 111 and by tightening and loosening the nuts, the guide channel 107 can he slid along the bars 100 and 106 and then held in an adjusted position. It is also preferred to provide the guide channel 107 with guide brackets 112 which can slidably engage the. edges of the bars 100 and 106.

The frame 43 carries a rotatable guide shaft 113 adjacent to its lower end and the terminals of the shaft carry idle spur gears 114 which engage spaced parallel tooth track bars 115 which extend longitudinally of the base and these toothed track bars 115 are rigidly secured to the base, in any desired manner. As illustrated, supporting brackets 116 are secured to the toothed track bars and these brackets are in turn rigidly fastened to the end beams 32 of the base. The arrangement of the gears 114 and the track bars 115 forms means for supporting the carriage and more particularly means for preventing twisting of the carriage during its travel over the base. Means is provided for moving the carriage back and forth and as illustrated, I employ a reversible electric motor 117 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) of the desired rating. This motor is secured to a platform 118 rigidly fastened to one end beam 34. The armature shaft of the motor is operatively connected to a speed reducing gear unit 119 which can be of any preferred make. This unit 119 is connected by a bracket 12% to the base. As.

illustrated in FIGURE 1, the armature shaft of the motor 117 is connected to the input shaft of the speed reducing unit by a belt 121 and pulleys 122 and 123 fastened respectively to the armature shaft and to the input shaft of the unit. The output shaft 124 of the unit is provided with a pinion 125 which meshes with a gear 126 keyed or otherwise secured to a countershaft 127 rotatably mounted on a supporting bracket 128 carried by the base. This countershaft constitutes the power take off for operating the carriage and this shaft has secured to its outer end a drive pulley 129. At the opposite end of the base from the countershaft 127 is rotatably mounted a stub shaft 139 and this shaft is rotatably mounted in a suitable bearing bracket 131 secured to the frame of the machine. This stub shaft 131) carries an idle pulley wheel 132 and the drive pulley 129 and the idle pulley 132 are connected by an endless pulley belt 133. The carriage is secured to the upper run of the belt 133 and consequently,'as the upper run of the belt moves longitudinally of the machine the carriage will be carried therewith. As shown in FIGURES 1 and 10, the upper run of the belt 133 is connected directly with the end frame bar 101 of the supporting frame 43 of the hopper. To insure smooth operation of the travel of the carriage back and forth the end vertical frame bar 101 carries idle grooved carriage wheels 134 which ride on one flange of a longitudinally extending channel beam 135. This channel beam 135 is rigidly secured to the transverse supporting beams 36 and 37 of the base and this beam 135 is companion to the beam 54 and the two beams serve an additional function of bracing the base. The end upright bar 101 also carries lower grooved carriage rollers 136 and these rollers engage a longitudinally extending track bar 137 which can be secured to the-corner legs 33 at one side of the machine.

As heretofore brought out, the carriage includes its frame 43 and hopper 42' which travels from one end of the machine, say the left hand end (FIGS. land 2), to the right, and then reverses its movement backjto the left. Any preferred means can be provided for reversing the travel ofthe carriage. As illustrated, I provide spaced limit and reversing switches 138 and 139, which are located in the'path of the travel of the carriage. The reversing switch 139 can be adjustably mounted on the base and as shown, this switch carries a'bracket 140' which straddles oneflangeofxthebeam 135 and the bracket is held in its Selected position by a set screw 141 carried by the bracket for engagement with the beam. In actual practice, the carriage is at the left hand side of the machine (FIGURE 1), and the operator actuates a starting switch for the reversible electric motor 117 at which time the carriage will start its travel to the right until the same strikes the reversing switch 139 at which time the motor is reversed and the carriage travels to the left until the same hits the switch 138, at which time current is cut off to the motor. When it is desired to start the travel of the carriage again, the switch is again actuated by the operator. As illustrated in FIG- URE 1, the brackets carrying the carriage rollers 134 and 136 actuate the switches 133 and 139. As the winding for the reversible motor and the switches 138 and 139, and the starting switch are conventional, the same have not been illustrated.

During the travel of' the carriage from the right hand side of the machine to the left, the slats from the hopper are automatically dropped at proper timed intervals into the template rack bars 44. This means includes a longitudinal row of actuating pins 142 carried by an angle bar 143 which extends longitudinally of the machine. This angle bar is secured to the transverse beams 36 and 37 and the angle bar is provided with a row of openings 144 through which the actuating pins 142 are placed. More or less pins are utilized according to the height of the door, i.e., the number of louver slats being employed in' the auxiliary frame or rim 26. The pins 142 are equally spaced and conform to the spacing of the teeth of the template rack bars 41. The pins 142 operate an ejector mechanism for the slats and this ejector mechanism is carried by the carriage and includes a main rock shaft 145. This rock shaft is mounted for turning movement in suitable bearings 146 carried by the lower frame beam 106 of the carriage. Fixed to the rock shaft are ejector cranks 147 and 148. These cranks are located adjacent to the lower ends of the guide channels 107 and 108 forming the hopper and it is preferred to have the crank 147 mounted for longitudinal adjusting movement on the rock shaft. The lower ends of the guide channels 107 and 108 each carry bottom guide plates 149 which constitute a stop and support for the lowermost slat of the stack carried by the hopper. The forward ends of these guide plates 149 project inwardly from the hopper and downwardly toward-the template rack bars 41. The front and rear flanges of the guide channels 107 and 108 are cut away at their lower ends as indicated by the reference character 151, and form guide fingers 150 to deliver an ejected slat at the correct angle to the template rack bars 41. r

The guide plates 149 slidably support ejector shoes 152 and these ejector shoes are an exact height of a slat and slide into and out of the hopper for ejecting the lowermost slat through the front cut out portions 151 of the guide channels 107 and 108. The lower ends of the ejector cranks 147 are provided with ball terminals 153 which engage'in sockets carried by the ejector shoes. The inner end of the main'rock shaft 145 has secured nected to a short lower secondary rock shaft'155. This rock shaft is mounted for turning movement in suitable bearing brackets 156 carried by the frame 43 of the carriage. The rock shaft 155 has secured thereto an upstanding crank arm 157 and the crank arms 157 and 154 are operatively connected together by a link 158.

ing arm 161 is rockably mounted on a stub shaft 163 carried by the frame 43 and also rockably mounted on this stub shaft 163 is a depending dog 164. The lower edge of the dog 164 is beveled, as at 165. Movement of the dog 164 relative to the arm 161 is prevented in one direction by a stop pin 166 carried by said arrn 161. A contractile spring 167 normally holds the dog against the stop pin 166. It is to be noted, that the dog 164 is free to rock in the opposite direction from the stop pin 166.

During the travel of the carriage from the left hand side of the machine toward the right hand side of the machine (FIGURE 1), the beveled edge 165 of the dog 164 will engage theactuating pins 142 and merely ride over these pins and consequently, during the travel of the carriage no slats are dropped or delivered to the template rack bars 41. Upon the return movement of the carriage from the right toward the left (FIGURE 1), the dog 164 will engage an actuating pin 142 and the dog, the arm 161, and the lever 159 will be rocked into the dotted line position shown in FIGURE 11. This movement will rock the secondary rock shaft 155 and this shaft in turn, due to its connection with the shaft 145, rocks said shaft bringing about the actuation of the ejector shoes and the dropping of a slat. Hence, each time the dog is actuated by a pin 142 a slat will be dropped and guided in to the template rack bars.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that I have provided means for automatically delivering slats at correct timed intervals and at a correct angle to supporting templates, with means for driving home the terminals of the slats into rim pieces.

Various changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit or the scope of this invention, but what I claim as new is:

1. A machine for assembling louver slats with side frame pieces comprising a base, means on said base for receiving and holding side frame pieces having their inner faces provided with slat receiving grooves including parallel disposed clamp bars normally spaced a greater distance apart than the lengths of louver slats to be associated with the side frame pieces, means for receiving and temporarily holding louver slats between the frame piece holding means and in alignment with the grooves in said pieces, means for automatically depositing slats in said slat holding means, and means for bringing the frame piece holding means toward one another for driving slat ends into the grooves of said frame pieces. Y

2. A machine for assembling louverslats with side frame pieces comprising a base, spaced parallel clamping means for receiving and temporarily holding side frame pieces having their inner faces provided with slat receiving grooves said clamping means being normally spaced a greater distance apart than the lengths of louver slats to be associated with the side frame pieces, means on said base between the frame piece clamping means for receiving and temporarily holding louver slats in alignment with the slat receiving grooves in the side frame pieces, a carriage including a hopper for holding a stack of slats movable longitudinally over the base and over the slat receiving means, and automatic means for releas-v ing one slat at a time from the hopper and into the slat holding means at spacedsintervals, and means'for bringing the side piece clamping means toward the slat ends for driving said slat ends into the grooves of said side frame pieces. 1 i' 3. A machinesforassembling louver slats with side frame pieces as defined in claim 2, and means for initially positioning the side frame pieces in said clamping means with the grooves thereof in transverse alignment.

.4. A machine for assembling louver slats with side frame pieces as defined in claim 2 and said slat holding and receiving means including spaced template rack bars having inclined seats for the slats;

5. A machine for assembling louver slats with side frame pieces as defined in claim 2, and said clamping means for the side frame pieces including spaced jaw members extending longitudinally of the machine having seats for the side frame pieces and means carried by the jaw members for gripping and temporarily holding the side frame pieces in said jaw members.

6. A machine for assembling louver slats with side frame pieces as defined in claim 2, and said side piece clamping means including spaced longitudinally extending jaw members having seats for the side pieces, releasable means engaging the side pieces and for holding the same in said jaw members, longitudinally extending supports for the jaw members, means hingedly securing the upper edges of the jaw members to the supports, spring means normally urging the lower ends of the jaw members away from the supports and toward one another at an angle to the supports and to the vertical and at an angle to the slat ends, and means for bringing one of the jaw members toward the other jaw member for forcing the slat ends into the grooves of the side pieces, said jaw members swinging inwardly on their hinges into a vertical position during movement of the movable jaw member whereby the slat ends will be forced gradually into said grooves.

7. A machine for assembling louver slats with side frame pieces as defined in claim 2, and locating means for initially positioning the side frame pieces in the clamping means with the grooves thereof in transverse alignment including levers carried by the clampingmeans having locating pins engaging in the forward end grooves of the side frame pieces and means for releasing said locating means after the clamping of the side pieces in said clamping means.

8. A machine for assembling louver slats with side frame pieces as defined in claim 7 and said slat holding and receiving means including template rack bars having inclined seats for the slats, said side piece locating means being in transverse alignment with the innermost seat for aligning the innermost grooves of the side pieces with the innermost seat of the template rack bars.

9. A machine for assembling louver slats with side frame pieces comprising a base, clamping means on said base for receiving and temporarily holding side frame pieces having slat receiving grooves in their inner faces including spaced longitudinally extending jaw members having seats for said side pieces, longitudinally extending supports on said base for said jaw members, means hingedly connecting the upper ends of the jaw members to said supports, spring means normally urging the lower ends of said members inwardly toward one another and at an angle to the vertical with said side pieces at an angle to the vertical, template rack bars extending longitudinally of the base between said jaw members having spaced seats for temporarily receiving and holding slats, means for lining up the side pieces in the jaw members with the grooves in said side members in transverse alignment, and in alignment with said seats, means for depositing slats one at a time in said seats, means for moving one of said jaw members toward the other for driving said slat ends into the grooves of the side pieces, said jaw members swinging on their hinges to a vertical position during the movement of the jaw member for gradually moving said slat ends into the grooves, and means resiliently supporting the template rack bars in said base for downward movement in a vertical plane to compensate for the inward swinging movement'of the jaws.

10. A machine for assembling louver slats with side frame pieces, as defined in claim 9, and means removably securing the template rack bars in said resilient mounting.

11. A machine for assembling louver slats with side frame pieces as set forth in claim 9, and said means for 12 actuating the movable jaw member including a longitudinally extending U-shaped slide member secured to the support of the movable jaw member, cams mounted in said U-shaped member and engaging the side flanges thereof and means for rotating the cams.

12. A machine for assembling louver slats with side frame pieces as defined in claim 9, and means for adjustably securing the jaw member opposite to the movable jaw member on said base for initially adjusting the jaw member relative to one another to agree with the length of slats being used in the machine.

13. A machine for assembling louver slats with side frame pieces of the type having diagonal grooves in their inner faces for the slat terminals, comprising a base, clamping means on said base for temporarily receiving and holding side frame pieces including spaced longitudinally extending jaw members having seats for said side frame pieces, means on said base located between said jaw members having equidistantly spaced seats for receiving and temporarily holding slats, means for moving one jaw member toward the other for driving the ends of the slats in said seats into the groves of the side frame pieces, and means for depositing slats one at a time at proper timed intervals into the seats including a carriage slidable back and forth over said base and over the slat holding means having a hopper for receiving a vertical stack of slats, means for moving the carriage back and forth over the base, and automatic means for ejecting one slat at a time from the lower end of the hopper into a seat at the proper timed interval during the movement of the carriage and hopper over the base.

14. A machine for assembling louver slats with side frame pieces of the type having diagonal grooves in their inner faces for the slat terminals, as defined in claim 13, and said means for rejecting the slats including a shoe slidably carried by the hopper and movable into engage ment with the lowermost slat of the stack for ejecting said slat upon movement of the shoe under the hopper and means for actuating the shoe including a rock shaft extending transversely of the carriage, means operatively connecting the rock shaft with the shoe, equidistantly spaced actuator pins arranged in a longitudinal row on said base with each pin spaced a distance equal to the spacing of the seats in the slat holding means, and means for rocking said shaft from the pins during the travel of the carriage over the base in one direction.

15. A machine forassembling louver slats with side frame pieces of the type having diagonal grooves in their inner faces for the slat terminals, as defined in claim 13, and said means for moving the carriage back and forth over the base including an electric motor and means disposed in the path of the carriage at the opposite ends of the limit of movement of the carriage for reversing and stopping movement of said carriage.

16. A machine for assembling louver slats with side frame pieces of the type having diagonal grooves in their inner faces for the slat terminals, as defined in claim 15, and means for preventing twisting of the carriage on the frame during its travel including longitudinally extending toothed tracks secured to the base adjacent to the opposite sides thereof, a rotatable shaft carried by the carriage, and

spur gears on said shaft engaging the tracks.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,806,637 McGavic May 26, 1931 2,488,724 Hengemel Nov. 22, 1949- 2,655,718 Haegele Oct. 20-, 1953' 2,707,818 Page May 10, 1955 2,862,289 Womack Dec. 2, 1958 2,967,552 Randolph Jan; 10, 1961 

